Interview with Author and Mental Coach Melanie Holzner

Since Melanie Holzner has always had excellent communication skills, she decided to turn her passion into her profession. Over the last years, she made a name for herself not only as an author but also as a mental coach. That is because she not only loves to write down her own stories but loves to help other authors with their success stories. In our interview, she talks about her own path, but also how she can support others on their journey.

How Did You Become an Author and What Is Your Main Genre?

I have been writing ever since I was a teenager because I always was fascinated by making up stories. At that time I wrote poems or short stories for me and my girlfriends. But I could never let go of the idea to one day write a “big” novel. For many years I ignored that desire until I wrote my debut novel “Melrose Avenue” – a romantic thriller – in my late 30s. It took me another 4 years until I published it on Amazon as an eBook. So you can see how long I had this idea in my mind. But I never gave up! In the meantime, I mainly write erotic romances, whereby I don’t want rule out writing another romantic thriller.

You Publish Your Ebooks as an In-House Publisher. Why Did You Decide to Go the Route as a Self-Publisher?

To be honest, at that time I knew nothing about selfpublishing. I only knew the classic way of working with a publishing house. I sent out about 40 applications to publishers of my revised book, but I only received rejections. Of course, I knew it was very hard to be accepted by more or less big publishers. Through I friend I heard of self-publishing and instantly tried it. It was rather easy and fast and when I noticed the first success, I was hooked. I really appreciate the freedom I have with self publishing. I can plan, organize and manage my books on my own, I do not have any pressure by someone else and all in all it is a wonderful and creative process, which I can control myself.

You Sell Your Ebooks Rather Successfull. How Do You Manage to Gain New Readers?

I try to be present on as many social media platforms as possible and involve my readers in the writing process. Furthermore, I host giveaways on Facebook, post little snippets of my unpublished novels and network with reading groups and bloggers. Online visibility is more and more important, ultimately it is nothing else than word of mouth marketing when you get likes, shares or tags. I also have my own author pages on different eBook platforms, plus there are also a lot of possibilities to do classic advertising. All things considered, it is really important for selfpublishers to stick with it and publish books continuously without too big gaps inbetween.

For me personally, it is essential to involve my readers. I am a passionate reader myself and want to get to know my favorite authors as well.

You are not only a successful author but also a mental coach. What can other authors learn from you?

Especially as a self-publisher it is important to motivate yourself again and again. As an independent author you don’t have a big publishing/editorial team that has your back, supports you and guides you. From my own experience I know, that many doubts can occur: Am I even talented enough? Is my style of writing too amateurish? Does my story even make sense? Another issue is the so-called “fear of creativity”, which leads to a writer’s block. And of course, I’ve also experienced the time issue with writing next to having a job, a daily life and a family – when do I find time to write? I can support authors very well in all those matters, I can even program myself to success. Mental training offers a lot of opportunities to transform topics of life into something positive, strengthen myself and show new routes.

One of Your Mantras Is “with Passion to Your Own Strength”. How Can Authors Incorporate That Mindset into Their Daily Life?

Authors, and those who want to become one, carry a burning passion inside of them to write. To fill that piece of paper with their words and stories. Everybody can use that passion to get to their very own force, so they don’t let their fire burn on a small flame, but to spark off a big fire, figuratively speaking. And that is what I want to teach other authors. That they have everything they need inside of them already, so they can eliminate all the different hurdles when writing and start believing in their work. This is exactly what my author’s training is based on. No classic writing training, but recognizing mental hurdles and getting the tools to overcome them. Like writing with a good sense of time and structure, finding clarity for concepts, strengthening your self-confidence when writing and channeling your talents so you can create a solid handcraft. Last but not least, I also give tips on self-publishing and marketing your own book.